Necktie storage apparatus

ABSTRACT

A necktie holding apparatus includes a pair of end brackets that attach to a support. A rod extends between and is attached to the end brackets. The attached rod has a substantially horizontal orientation. The rod supports a plurality of sliding members that each slide independently and freely along the rod. The sliding members each have a substantially fixed orientation. Additionally, each sliding member has a receiving member to receive and support an article of clothing, such as a necktie.

FIELD

Embodiments of the invention relate to clothing organization, and more particularly to necktie organization and/or storage.

BACKGROUND

Neckties are commonly stored and/or kept in a closet where space is limited. To save space, various known necktie holders (e.g., hanger type, wall-mounted type, etc.) are designed with hooks and/or pegs that are extremely close together. While these necktie holders conserve closet space, the close spacing of the hooks and/or pegs often makes it difficult to remove neckties from, or place neckties on, the necktie holder. Furthermore, the close spacing can make it extremely difficult to see the different neckties well enough to select a particular necktie for wear.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following description includes discussion of figures having illustrations given by way of example of implementations of embodiments of the invention. The drawings should be understood by way of example, and not by way of limitation. As used herein, references to one or more “embodiments” are to be understood as describing a particular feature, structure, or characteristic included in at least one implementation of the invention. Thus, phrases such as “in one embodiment” or “in an alternate embodiment” appearing herein describe various embodiments and implementations of the invention, and do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment. However, they are also not necessarily mutually exclusive.

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a necktie holder according to various embodiments.

FIG. 1B is a perspective view of a necktie holder according to various embodiments.

FIG. 2A is a side sectional view of a sliding member and a receiving member according to various embodiments.

FIG. 2B is a side sectional view of a sliding member and a receiving member according to various embodiments.

FIG. 2C is a fragmentary perspective view of a sliding member and a receiving member according to various embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of a necktie holder having moving receiving members according to various embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary front sectional view of a sliding member according to various embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a necktie holder according to various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As provided herein, apparatuses for holding neckties facilitate compact storage of neckties as well as convenient placement and removal of neckties from the necktie holder. For the purpose of conciseness and convenience, the discussion herein will be limited to neckties. However, one of skill in the art will appreciate that embodiments described herein can also be used to hold and/or store other articles of clothing and clothing accessories (e.g., belts, scarves, shirts, pants, sashes, necklaces, etc.).

In various embodiments, the necktie holder includes sliding functionality similar to that of an abacus. An abacus typically consists of a frame set with rods on which balls or beads are moved. The balls or beads of an abacus slide independently and freely along the rods. Thus, a simple flick of the finger can cause one bead or several beads to slide along the rod until coming in contact with the end of the rod (or until coming in contact with other beads that are already at the end of the rod). In other words, the frictional force between the beads and the rods of an abacus is minimal. Thus, references herein to “sliding freely” or “freely slidable” are referring to this minimal state of friction between a rod and a sliding member attached to the rod. This free sliding movement is in specific contrast to U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,474,316 and 6,152,313, which explicitly limit any sliding movement to intentional manual movement. In both of the above-referenced patents, the sliding capability is only intended to allow a hook or card to be moved to a desired position; once the desired position has been achieved, the hooks or cards are intended to remain fixed in their position.

Various embodiments of the necktie holder include a plurality of sliding members that are independently and freely slidable along a rod. While freely slidable along the rod, the sliding members are maintained having a substantially fixed orientation. In other words, the sliding members are not intended to rotate on the rod to which they are attached. Each of the sliding members includes a receiving member to receive and support an article of clothing. As used herein, a receiving member refers to any peg, hook, pin, etc., capable of supporting one or more items of clothing (e.g., a tie). Each of the sliding members can be any width, although in some embodiments, the width of each of the sliding members is approximately equal to the width of a tie hanging over a receiving member. In other words, in some embodiments, the width of each sliding member is such that when adjacent sliding members are touching, corresponding adjacent ties are also touching (or close to touching) each other.

In various embodiments, the rod is fixed in a substantially horizontal orientation. The ends of the rod can be embedded in or mounted on a wall or other supporting surface, attached to brackets, hung from wires, etc. A support frame refers to any means of attachment to a support that can be used to maintain the rod in a substantially horizontal orientation in various embodiments. For example, the rod could be attached directly or indirectly to a wall or it could be attached to a closet hanger.

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a necktie holder according to various embodiments. Support 110 supports the end brackets 130 which, in turn, support a rod 120. Support 110 can be made of wood, plastic, metal, ceramic, or any other known material capable of being mounted on a wall. Other components described herein can also be made of the materials described and/or contemplated. The particular shape and dimension of support 110 is only relevant insofar as support 110 is capable of supporting the other components of the necktie holder. In some embodiments, support 110 could have a hanging mechanism that allows support 110 to hang from a hanging rod (e.g., in the same way that a clothes hanger hangs on a hanging rod). In other embodiments, support 110 is unnecessary. For example, in some embodiments, the end brackets, or simply brackets, 130 could be attached directly to a wall.

A plurality of sliding members 140 are attached to the rod 120. In various embodiments, rod 120 fits through sliding members 140 via an opening in each of the sliding members 140. Sliding members 140 are independently and freely slidable along rod 120. Each sliding member 140 is maintained in a substantially fixed orientation. For example, as shown in FIG. 1A, the back surfaces of each of the sliding members 140 can be flush with the front surface of support 110. In this way, sliding members 140 cannot rotate around rod 120. In other embodiments, rod 120 could have a non-circular cross-section (e.g., a square or triangular cross-section, etc.) and sliding members 140 could have a matching non-circular opening. In this way, the sliding members 140 would also be prevented from rotating around rod 120. Also, an anti-rotation member 170, shown in FIG. 1B, could be attached to support 110 or brackets 130 to prevent sliding members 140 from rotating around rod 120. (Anti-rotation member 170 could be mounted on top or on bottom of support 110 to prevent rotation of the sliding members). While the back surface of sliding members 140 may be flush with support 110 in some embodiments, there is no general requirement as to the shape and/or contours of the other sliding member surfaces. In other words, one of skill in the art will appreciate that the sliding members 140 can have various cross-sectional shapes other than the approximately square cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 1A.

On each sliding member 140 is attached a receiving member 150. As used herein, a receiving member is intended to be anything capable of receiving and supporting an article of clothing (e.g., a pin, a peg, a hook, etc.). In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1A, each respective receiving member 150 is positioned in the same location on each respective sliding member. In other embodiments, the receiving members 150 can be staggered in different positions (e.g., height-wise with respect to a reference point) among the sliding members 140. Also, receiving members 150 can be mounted at various angles. In other words, there is no restriction on the placement of a receiving member 150 onto sliding member 140, with the exception that a receiving member 150 cannot interfere with the sliding movement of sliding a member 140 nor can it impede adjacent sliding members 140 from contacting each other.

FIG. 2A is a side sectional view of a sliding member and a receiving member according to various embodiments. Sliding member 240 has an opening 242 through which a rod (e.g., rod 120 of FIG. 1A) may be received. Inside of sliding member 240 is a cavity 256. Cavity 256 contains a body 252 supported by a spring (or spring-like) mechanism 260. Spring mechanism 260 is intended to represent any type of mechanism that resists downward movement of body 252. Thus, in some embodiments, spring mechanism 260 could be replaced by a compressible substance (e.g., foam, etc.) that expands once pressure is lifted or removed from it. Additionally, spring mechanism 260 could be mounted above body 252 and resist downward movement by body 252 by “pulling” on body 252.

Attached to body 252 is a receiving member 250. The spring constant of spring 260 is such that body 252 and receiving member 250 move downward relative to sliding member 240 when (the weight of) a tie is placed upon receiving member 250. In other words, spring 260 is designed such that receiving member 250 and body 252 stay substantially down when a tie is hanging on receiving member 250, but receiving member 250 and body 252 stay substantially up when there is no weight on receiving member 250. An example of an “up” position of receiving member 250 is illustrated in FIG. 2A, while an example of a “down” position is illustrated in FIG. 2B.

FIG. 2C is a fragmentary perspective view of a sliding member and a receiving member according to various embodiments. In addition to illustrating the internal components (e.g., spring 260, body 252, etc.) of sliding member 240, FIG. 2C illustrates an aperture 254, which allows receiving member 250 to attach to body 252 and move up and down relative to sliding member 240.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of a necktie holder having moving receiving members according to various embodiments. Rather than showing the fixed receiving members 150 (illustrated in FIG. 1A-B), FIG. 3 illustrates the movable sliding members 250 (illustrated in FIG. 2A-B) that move up and down based on the weight (or lack thereof) placed upon them.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary front sectional view of a sliding member according to various embodiments. Sliding member 340 includes an aperture 354 that forms a channel to allow a receiving member to attach to a body (e.g., body 352) within sliding member 340. However, as shown in FIG. 4, various embodiments may have a notch 358 that allows a receiving member to be locked, latched or fixed in place. A receiving member cannot move upwards along the channel formed by aperture 354 as long as it is in the notched position (shown as notch 358). When a receiving member is in the notched position, pushing the receiving member down and over (e.g., to left in FIG. 4) while in the notched position, the receiving member moves back into the channel formed by aperture 354 and becomes freely movable along the channel formed by aperture 354.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a necktie holder according to various embodiments. As shown, sliding members 440 may be supported by a supporting rod 422, which is different than the rod described in previous embodiments in that supporting rod 422 does not need to be completely surrounded or enveloped by sliding members 440. While the support may be rectangular in shape, as shown, it is only necessary that the supporting rod 422 provide support to the sliding members 440 and allow the sliding members 440 to slide freely along the support. Supporting rod 422 may be referred to either as a “rod” or a “supporting rod” in various embodiments. Though not shown in the figure, one of skill in the art will appreciate that supporting rod 422 may be attached to end brackets similar to those described in FIG. 1 (e.g., end brackets 130).

Other embodiments may include using multiple supporting rods and/or tracks or channels to guide the movement of the sliding members described herein. 

1. An apparatus, comprising: a rod attached to a support, the rod having a substantially horizontal orientation when the attached to the support; and a plurality of sliding members supported by the rod, wherein each sliding member is independently and freely slidable along the rod, each sliding member having a substantially fixed orientation, and each sliding member having a receiving member to receive and support an article of clothing.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a receiving member moves vertically downward relative to its respective sliding member upon receiving the weight of the article of clothing.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the receiving member moves vertically upward relative to its respective sliding member upon removal of the article of clothing from the receiving member.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising means for preventing vertical upward movement of the receiving member relative to its respective sliding member upon removal of the article of clothing from the receiving member.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the article of clothing is a necktie.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the width of each sliding member is less than 0.6 inches.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the support is one of a hanger, a wall, or a support frame.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the rod is attached to the support via a pair of brackets.
 9. An apparatus, comprising: a pair of end brackets for attachment to a support; a rod extending between the end brackets, the rod having a substantially horizontal orientation when the brackets are attached to the support; and a plurality of sliding members supported by the rod, wherein each sliding member is independently and freely slidable along the rod, each sliding member having a substantially fixed orientation, and each sliding member having a receiving member to receive and support an article of clothing.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein a receiving member moves vertically downward relative to its respective sliding member upon receiving the weight of the article of clothing.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the receiving member moves vertically upward relative to its respective sliding member upon removal of the article of clothing from the receiving member.
 12. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising means for preventing vertical upward movement of the receiving member relative to its respective sliding member upon removal of the article of clothing from the receiving member.
 13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the article of clothing is a necktie.
 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the width of each sliding member is less than ¾ inches.
 15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the support is one of a hanger, a wall, or a support frame. 